Konrad Bleyer-Simon

"The U.S. government's decision to withdraw from UNESCO—which has a mandate to protect journalists and press freedom—is a clear declaration of disdain for facts and for the public's right to be informed." — @gypsyrights.bsky.social, CPJ's Chief Global Affairs Officer

EU Rule of Law Report: ECPMF Calls for Clear Penalties to Defend Media Freedom Following the publication of the European Commission's 2025 Rule of Law report, the MFRR calls on the EU to act on the alarming findings to bolster its defence of media freedom across the bloc.

The 2025 #RuleofLaw Report recognises the growing threats to media freedom, but without consequences for non-compliance, the decline will continue.
‼️ECPMF urges the European Commission to specify what penalties will follow failure to implement EMFA & anti-SLAPP measures.
www.ecpmf.eu/eu-rule-of-l...

The Code of Practice is out! The final result of months of drafting based on the AI Act and feedback from MEPs, Member State governments, civil society, the hundreds of people in the working groups, and AI companies, here ↘️

digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/...

German court rules Meta tracking technology violates European privacy laws The court in Leipzig ruled that Meta must pay €5,000 ($5,900) to a German Facebook user who sued the platform for embedding tracking technology in third-party websites — a ruling that could open the d...

"A German court has ruled that Meta must pay €5,000 to a German FB user who sued the platform for embedding tracking technology in third-party websites — a ruling that could open the door to large fines down the road over data privacy violations ..." therecord.media/german-court...

Not sure whether to laugh or cry...

Budapest Pride 🏳️‍🌈🇭🇺 the ban backfired! Peaceful, safe, happy and huge!
Organisers estimate a crowd over 200,000 people.

Hungary's banned Pride rally morphs into anti-government march Tens of thousands of protesters march through Hungary's capital as a banned LGBTQIA+ rights rally swells into a mass anti-government demonstration.

Oh NICE. Maybe there's hope for Hungary yet.

www.abc.net.au/news/...

27 EU member states mean 27 policy environments to deal with #disinformation . On top of that, there is the EU policy that applies in all member states. We had a country-by-country look in this EDMO report. edmo.eu/wp-content/u...

Who are the actors behind #disinformation in the EU? Are they foreign or local? Do they involve politicians and media? It depends on the country. We looked at the existing evidence in our recent EDMO report. Homegrown information challenges can definitley be found everywhere edmo.eu/wp-content/u...

“Today, there are some good examples of a more progressive Internet, like decentralised apps and open-source tools, but many people don’t use them because they require a higher degree of technical skill.” Was an honour to ask @parismarx.com about exiting big tech. @greeneujournal.bsky.social

Sam Altman isn't keen on you reading my book. EMPIRE OF AI is based on 300+ interviews, 7 yrs covering AI, and my time as the first reporter who got extensive access to OpenAI. I sought OpenAI's perspective throughout. For months they said it was coming. It never did. Pre-order here: empireofai.com.

And the hidden meaning of Madonna’s Papa don’t preach is also uncovered

Breaking: the Pope is likely a #Belieber.

Renaming the EU, Dismantling the Commission: For What Polish and Hungarian Illiberals Seek U.S. Backing - VSquare.org The Trump administration's most influential think tank, The Heritage Foundation, is receiving proposals from illiberal forces in Poland and Hungary on how to shape the future of the European Union. Th...

Europe’s far-right is running to the US with a proposal of destroying the EU. The world that Trump, Orbán and co. created is getting more surreal by the minute. vsquare.org/heritage-fou...

She‘s back.

Looks like Bluesky is finally happening. I hope Mastodon will catch up soon.

Media Pluralism Monitor 2024 - CMPF The Media Pluralism Monitor is a research project that assesses the health of media ecosystems in Europe, highlighting threats to media pluralism and media freedom in the European Union's Member State...

There is no risk-free media environment. Even in countries where the media system is widely considered pluralistic and free, media workers face multiple challenges. Funding and regulation need to be constantly adapted to new realities. See: Media Pluralism Monitor. cmpf.eui.eu/media-plural...

Media pluralism and risks to the fairness of European Parliament Elections: Insights from the forthcoming Media Pluralism Monitor 2024 - Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom Media coverage of candidates and the dissemination of political advertising play a vital role in the upcoming EP elections.

Social media political advertising is opaque and unregulated in most EU countries. The exact opposite of the broadcast environment. This can pose risks to EU election integrity. Our blog post with Matteo Trevisan. New EU regulation will improve the situation a lot. cmpf.eui.eu/media-and-eu...

Instead of only trying to save the media, we need to figure out how to create a public sphere that is more inclusive and engaging. I try to explain how, in Polish. archiwumosiatynskiego.pl/images/2024/...

This week’s marathon update: at km 23, I was attacked by an angry duck (!). The surprisingly fast animal kept chasing me for several meters. I escaped by looking it in the eyes, while running backwards. Looking forward to aggressive poodles or raccoons next time.

Just ran my worst marathon time ever. After 5K, I started feeling kinda sick. Probably because I got up at 4, traveled 3 hours and missed breakfast. Still, quitting was no option: as an Eastern European I knew quite well that free t-shirts are only for those who finish the race.

Thank you for this great opportunity @disinfo.eu

Tomorrow we‘ll be discussing a project that can significantly increase the transparency of the onlionline environment. 14:30 Thursday, 28 March. @disinfo.eu (Details below)

And that’s another case for #mediaethics, #algorithmic #integrity and the respect of journalistic #self-regulation. (But at least it seems like the article was taken down by the time I finished writing this.) 7/7

It is no wonder this article on #celebrity suicides was written and recommended: deaths (obituaries), celebrities and top10s are all #clickbait, and therefore it has a really high likelihood to bring in clicks or generate engagement. 6/7

The piece was published in an #EU country with strong #self-regulation on the issue, and, in general, #news #media seem to be cautious when reporting on suicide, sometimes to a degree that even relevant info is left out of articles. 5/7

…but turning a tragic event into a contest is irresponsible and inevitably portrays taking one’s own life in a way that might be appealing to some readers. (And we should see no glamour in the Club of 27 either) 4/7

See also WHO recommendations on responsible ways to deal with the subject tinyurl.com/jm36mh7j This shouldn’t, of course, mean that suicide shouldn’t be reported on. Audiences shouldn’t have to read between the lines… 3/7

…but through reckless disregard of possible consequences (both from #journalists and #tech). By now, we should be aware that reporting on suicide can be a trigger for readers to inflict harm on themselves, if they are in a vulnerable state. 2/7

This morning, a news #recommender #algorithm selected a #sensationalistic article for me on top #celebrities that committed suicide. Another example how #harmful content can be amplified. I assume, it was not on purpose… 1/7